Means for making toy structural units



FEB. 16, 1954 J. BAECHLER 2,668,999

MEANS FOR MAKING TOY STRUCTURAL UNITS Original Filed Dec. 15, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 'Q {Q w k INVENTOR Joseph Baec/zler.

ATTORNEY 7 J. BAECHLER MEANS FOR MAKING TOY STRUCTURAL UNITS Feb. 16, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Dec. 15 1949 l m MWN mg wmw s A NWN a n I O QM R B ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 16, 1954 QFiFiICE OR'IMAKINGJTOY STEKUCTII-RAL UNIT "JosephBaechler, limuhssvitzerland ,mig al application Decemberlllialfliifiefial "No- 1133,1123. fDiVidefland thiS'aDlflica'thn May'TS, 1319551, Scrial"N:,Z27,029

7 Glaims.

' 1 Elie-present invention is a--- division of amy appiieation Serial 0. 133g023 filed December '1 1949,-'and relates to an apparatus ior moulding merits of-a --quick setting "material, irwh ich 'may.

easily be as-sembled and lendin themselves lto :all

' --=sert-s*of modifications in order to produce-constructional variations by- 'employin-g the recovered elements for new constructions.

The accom-panying drawings, show, by way of example, various embodiments with accessory rparts'aswell as some'of themore usual construc- -=fiion elements which may be produced by means of'thisapparatus.

Figure 1 is =a-perspec tiveyiew of theapparatus andincluding several cross sections, designed to simplify the understanding of the innerarrange- "ment-of the mould.

Figures 2 to 6 are-fragmentary d-etai1s ofthe apparatus of Figure 1 -'shewing-: "in Eigurefl, a

fragment inlongitudinal elevation-f in Figureii, a longitudi-nal section along uthe -iline III-e111 of Figures: inzFiguree, a cross-section al-ong :the dine of Eigurefi: in Figured, a plan-iview of Figure 2, and in Figure 6, a longitudinal-section in plan along line VI-VI of Figure-.3.

EiFEig-ures .27 :.to -10, :to a 'larger sca1e,ashow :diffierent iforms o fmandrel-azdesigned ito fillflor .stoprthe moulding holes in "the elements rto bemanufacitituted.

fFigures 11 .to' 1:3:show ..diagrammaticall yr'the szmethodiof distributing and arranging 171516 idif iderentshapes vof ercores tor partitions and mandrels 55in ithe mould; in iorder :toproduce reariousishapes ot constmiction elements.

1::figures: 14 #to. ;231.show;-artewoffthe'imoremsual :ioonstructionelements,:producedlby.thezmoulding apparatus according to the invention.

. Figure 24 shows, finally, the. manner. in which 1 two-adjacent elements may'ibe joinedflt'ogether "tymeans one removable member.

construction elements employed accordimg to the present invention represent all: shapes "wound in thehuildi-ng trade, and rztheimoulding via oparatus permits manufacturing all :.of:'the=';de-.

' sivityiofiexample in' Figures ljaosi.

: Omthezother elementsitoihexmonlded (G1-25-r121r) arei'ifr i educed size and their-asides are standardized taking forexample :asi-basis the centimeter-0r a multiple of a centimeter. The elements-are i moulded" from a hardening material such ce- 5 ment lime gypsum or other quick settingmlastic materi-al.

LiSince these elements'rmust be suitabledio: be as- --sembled in the dry stateland. taken to pieces -=w.ithout undergoing any deformation or-. damage, ;s0

asito serve for :thesetting up rota =newyconstruction, the usual methods andriineans LOf "moulding cannot be employed directly, without -making modifications therein, enabling one tomanufacturethem with :a single mold .andwithout other 15 accessories thansuitableinandrels.

An embodiment :of 1 azmou'lcling apparatus,;suitable-to the requirements cited above, is given-by may of ie'xample iin Figures 3.1 130116 of 13115 accompanying drawing. Since theelements;manufacltui'ed with this mould are .of :very reduced sizes, itihas'been necessary, for'rtheiconstruction :of the 'imou ldmto resort tovthe use .of'imetal or a :plastic :materi-azL-smthat all the-parts of the latterare for seieam-"pie, of aluminum ibrass or synthetic imaterial. "iMoreouer ithe:length .oitthezappara'tus is calculated in-suchaway ithatit. lendsitself to xfcheimoulding of elements of 'varyinglengths or, trailing zthis,u simu=ltaneously of several elements fby. the-same casting.

, The-imould shown icompr'ises :abase I tinclud- .ing a-"ifiounda'tioniplate, wihi-chcgiuesyto the whole itheiireqnired-istability. Ondzhemlateaaremounted i-thez twoaierticaflwalls i2 wand 3. :having on their rrbottcmsxnctches ihearing-uon-iang-le portions: prossi'izidedgon :fchexbase rplate, zsoras to ensure their sparalielismfihezdistance chosensbetweenthe said walls 'fhfim smercen imeter. iAi their tends the :wval ls mandzt'iarerspaced ibysmeansqf-iendrwalls 4 and intermediate DaJEtiI'iiOHS QIZfWIIiQh WiH i-oeiescribedzhereazfiter. frhezxnculd sis .eoyered with :edidw, having :a :lprofile-ssymmetrical with that v or sthe portion 40f :ithe :foun'clation plate @of :the base 1 I '?ilflzie.-v lid straddles upper tangle :porltions iota-the weiiticalxwalls, prevents :the-idisin Iilodgementmfzthe malls.

'.;Since:the5'lid or vhotter 5 its fp'rlaced :on .:the.:mould V :at the tend flfrtthetimoiilding ioperationy'usexis :first made-inf 1a immovable =ieed-ertor hopper likeimem- 6,-int';the -shape-of ia-iunnel, facilitating the 6D iifilling of :ithe 'rmould .-ra:nd :avoiding Q dirt splashes. 'liheimaimchazrauteristic offltheimouldsdescribed :resides xiin fill'le :"fac't :ithat it "1001111311588 primary .unamlneis .iarl fitted to 'LIhOlBSgfiiTillhE walls :of 13118 :zmuuhl :andiservingi uflie ielemenlis to wribeimredirsocketsrwhich pemiitzwithztthe 3 aid of pins I2, later to be described, the instantaneous and exact assembly as well as their disassembling without any damage.

According to the variety of elements which may be manufactured with the mould described, it is necessary to provide for a Whole series of mandrels l, which can be adapted to the needs required. Figures 7 to illustrate certain embodiments of mandrels.

The primary mandrels, Figure "7, comprise a piston-shaped cylindrical head member the length of which corresponds substantially to the thickness of the wall 2 of the mould. The said head is provided with a rod 8, the length of which is greater than the thickness of the wall of the mould, so that a handle 9, designed for the operation of the mandrel, may be fitted thereto. In its cylindrical head portion, the mandrel is provided with an annular groove I6, in which is housed an annular friction spring H, adapted to releasably hold the mandrel in the wall of the mould and to prevent its accidental axial movement.

The mandrel described, housed in the wall of the mould, fulfills three different functions, viz: it serves to plug or stop the hole in the wall of the mould, to secure the core or separating partition 4a (Figure 1), and finally to form an assembly hole in the element to be moulded, which will serve to receive or house the connecting pin H for the purpose of joining two adjacent elements as shown in Figure 24:.

It is obvious that a finished structural element 13 or the like sometimes requires two or more holes, either on the same face, or on adjacent faces, from which arises the necessity of several types of secondary socket forming mandrels, la, lb and lo as shown in Figures 8, 9 and 10 to be used, for example, on the partitions 1a.

Similarly, when the face of the element must be smooth, the mandrel is used to stop the hole, which is done by driving or forcing the mandrel 7! against the resistance of spring ll through the thickness of the wall of the mould or else through the thickness of the separating partition.

The standard mandrel, shown in Figure '7 is arranged in one or two rows on the outer surfaces of the side walls of the mold at the specified places in order to be projected into the mold space when desired or projected into interlocking engagement with the end partitions 4a or into abutting holding engagement with intermediate partitions ib when used as hereafter explained, or, as previously indicated, to form a hole in the finished structural element or block, such for example as I 3a, or else merely to plug the hole in a side I or 2 so that the outer face of the head provides a smooth inner face for the mold space when desired.

When it is a question of manufacturing several different toy structural elements by means of the same casting operation, it is necessary to interpose several intermediate partitions 4b in the mold. In this case, the related mandrel 1 (Figure 7) is withdrawn until the face of the head thereof is flush with the wall I or 2 of the mold and the mandrel la of Figure 8 may then be used in the longer side walls of the intermediate partition ib as shown in Figures 1-6 of the drawing. This forms one socket in the adjacent block element. However, in certain cases, if it is necessary to make sockets for pins l2 in adjacent block elements, that is one socket on each side, as where the partition 4?) contributes to the manufacture of a block element located on each '4 side of said partition, then the mandrel 1b is used according to Figure 9. The mandrel 10 according to Figure 10, without shoulders and no projecting mold part is used to seal the holes traversing the separating partition from end to end.

Figures 11, 12 and 13, as well as Figure 4, show by way of example several arrangements of mandrels and separating partitions inside the mould, in order to manufacture standard construction elements, outlined in Figures 14 to 23.

The arrangement according to Figure 11, permits of manufacturing normal elements, viz.: the cube 13 (Figure 14) the double cube l3a (Figure 15) and the parallelepiped 13b (Figure 16). The arrangement according to Figure 12 discloses the use of filler elements of varying geometrical shape I312, ltd, 13c, 13] and My (Figures 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21) to produce finished blocks with arcuate surfaces. For elements I371 of triangular section (Figure 22) the mould is arranged as shown in cross hatching on the left hand side of Figure 3. Finally, for special elements 13k (Figure 23), use is made of the inside of the mould with the arrangement shown in Figure 13.

The advantages realized by the elements thus manufactured reside principally in the fact that their assembly and disassembling are of great simplicity, not requiring the use of any binder. A simple pin [2, placed in the moulding holes corresponding to two adjacent elements, suflices to produce a solid assembly and allows of the separation of the said elements when the assembly is to be taken apart.

These qualities are greatly appreciated in the construction of models of buildings, walls, arches, roofing or any other kind of construction. They permit of modifying or changing as a whole or in part the executed assemblies, thus rendering it possible to dismantle completely the executed construction and to make use again of the recovered elements for other similar purposes.

In another connection, the present invention offers an instructive and attractive interest for youth as a construction game, since it permits of combining and moulding oneself the elements designed for the construction of a piece of work conceived through his own imagination. It is therefore particularly suitable for use as school material.

I claim:

1. An educational and amusement apparatus for molding individual toy construction elements of selected geometrical shapes adapted to be readily assembled and disassembled to build and rebuild reduced scale models of various building designs according to the desire of the builder, comprising, in combination, a foundation plate a portion of which defines a mold bottom and having upstanding parallel shoulders at each side of the mold bottom, said bottom provided with openings, a pair of longitudinally disposed side walls having upper and lower shoulders, said lower shoulders engaging the said shoulders of the foundation plate, said side walls having at least one row of openings, end walls spacing said side walls and resting on the ends of the mold bottom, said end walls having at least one row of openings, a cover plate recessed on its under face fitting over the upper shoulders of the side walls and over said end walls, said cover plate provided with openings, primary mandrels frictionally slidable in the openings of the mold bottom, side walls, and cover, and having their outer ends provided with handle portions and their inner ends provided with mold heads, said mandrels being selectively projectible in said openings to extend into the mold space formed by the mold bottom, side walls, and cover, and withdrawable to have their inner ends flush with the related mold surface, partition elements selectively spaced relative to each other and the end walls and between said side walls, said partition elements having openings, and secondary socket forming mandrels insertable and removable from said last mentioned openings.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 having filler elements of different geometrical shapes supported by said foundation plate between said partition elements, whereby mating geometrical shaped finished construction elements are provided.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the primary mandrels comprise a head and a shank extending through a related wall opening, and a handle on the end of the shank opposite the head.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the primary mandrels comprise a head and a shank extending through a related wall opening, said shank having threads, and a handle having interior threads for engaging the threads on the shank.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the primary mandrels comprise a head having an annular recess near its inner end, a spring ring in said recess for functionally egaging the sides of the opening in which the mandrel slides, and a manipulating handle at the exposed end of said opening.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the secondary socket forming mandrels include a body having an annular recess to receive an annular friction spring.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1 where in the secondary socket forming mandrels include a body having an annular recess to receive an annular friction spring and a reduced socket forming portion at one end of the body.

JOSEPH BAECI-ILER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 243,504 Carnell June 28, 1881 734,740 Palmer July 28, 1903 769,771 Seamans Sept. 13, 1904 1,296,639 Eskesen Mar. 11, 1919 1,604,034 Gillam et a1 Oct. 19, 1926 1,649,525 Herold "Q NOV. 15, 1927 1,744,702 Leeder Jan. 21, 1930 2,121,439 Menzel June 21, 1938 2,310,830 Blair et a1 Feb. 9, 1943 

